Women's Outdoor News Jan. 2014 | Page 27

WOMEN’SOUTDOORSNEWS January 2014 Chapter 2: Shoot that 20! Lisa, Writing Huntress Contrary to popular thought, you are completely able to kill a goose with something other than a 12gauge, semi-automatic shotgun. How do I know? Simple, I killed my first goose with a Mossberg 500 youth-edition 20-gauge. At the time, it was the only gun I felt comfortable enough to shoot, so I used it the entirety of my first goose season, with great success. The Writing Huntress (WH,) known to her friends and family as Lisa Jane, is a freelance outdoor writer who currently dwells in an igloo in North Dakota. Her homeland of western New York is where she killed her first deer and where her passion for hunting was born. WH has a weakness for animal shelters and sad dogs. Hence, her icehouse is currently run by 4 rescues that use their previous, abused lives to their current couch-adorning advantage. Her husband is an admitted quackaholic and present-day farmer who drives in continuous circles, row after row in his tractor about the vast prairie. Now, while your gun is able to shoot a goose, you still need to practice. One of the best ways to prepare for shooting flying objects is to got to the nearest skeet or sporting clay range. There, instructors can teach you how to shoot at clays moving in all sorts of directions, so that by the time webbed feet are landing on top of your blind, you’ll be ready. Chapter 3: Bacon-wrapped gaggle of geese Many a skeptic claims that geese taste too gamey, and they’re not versatile enough to warrant shooting. These claims are utterly false. Canada geese are not only delicious, but also malleable enough to work into any dish. My husband and I live in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, which means we kill a lot of geese, which means we eat a lot of goose. Besides making goose breakfast sausage, summer sausage, jerky and other types of sausage-esque products, we practically live off of bacon-wrapped goose poppers. To make the mouthwatering bites, just breast out as many geese as you have handy. Once they’re breasted, you can soak the breasts in milk for a few hours or overnight, depending on how much of the gamey flavor you feel like eliminating. Take the breasts and cut them into palm-sized medallions. Then, place a piece of cheese and a jalapeño in the middle. Roll the goose, then wrap it with a piece of bacon, secure the whole combination with a toothpick, and throw them on the grill. Once the bacon and goose are cooked, you’re ready to eat! Remember that goose hunting is multi-faceted and the learning never ends, so be sure to keep your eyes open for seminars, speakers or outdoor shows in your area. Good luck and please report back to The WON on how your season goes! Happy hunting, WH WH’s favorite color is dinosaur-printed camouflage. Her most beloved animal to hunt is the jackalope. When she’s not taking pictures, waiting on wild game or tweeting from 20 feet up, WH can be found, quill-in-hand, crafting the next "Ask Writing Huntress" column by antique oil lamp in her hand-hewn, coal-heated, log cabin. Learn more about Lisa at The WON. Brita Lewis The youngest of 3 girls, Brita Lewis became her dad’s hunting buddy at the age of 9. She loved it. “I remember going to sit with him a lot and then one day realizing that I wanted to have my own gun. I wanted the challenge,” she said. For Brita, hunting is more than a thrill to